Township treasurer stumbles upon second hole-in-one

Thursday

Aug 22, 2013 at 9:07 AM

By Phillip Morgan pmorgan@hillsdale.net

COLDWATER — Most golfers are lucky to get a single hole-in-one in their entire golf careers. Don Rogers, 59, of Coldwater has now shot two. Thirty-three years after Rogers hit his first hole-in-one in Quincy in 1980, he repeated the feat at the Golf Club of Coldwater during a senior league competition on Tuesday, Aug. 20th. On the number two hole, a 158-yard par-3, Rogers hit a high arching shot.Rogers said he noticed the ball drawing in as it landed. With an elevated green, Rogers was unable to see the shot go in.As he looked for his ball, he asked the group ahead if they had seen it. It's in the hole one golfer replied. Rogers said he noticed the top of the ball wedged between the cup and the pin. "It was a surprise," Rogers said. "We high-fived and all." Strangely, this scene mimics Rogers' first hole-in-one in 1980. On a par 3, his tee shot landed on the green which was, again, at the top of a hill. Rogers could not see the cup. According to onlookers the ball hit once and bounced in. Rogers said his first hole-in-one was more shocking than his last. Sports Illustrated reports that the odds of getting a hole-in-one on a typical par 3 are 45,000 to 1. Coldwater Golf Club pro Rolla Frisinger, 58, said that his course sees about 10 hole-in-ones each year. Club members who make this improbable shot are immortalized on the Hole-In-One Wall in the club's basement. It has been a tradition at the Coldwater clubhouse since 1920. Frisinger said the iconic one-and-done shot usually involves equal parts of skill and luck. Rogers agreed. "It's luck," Rogers said. "you need to have a good shot but it's luck." Although Frisinger said he has seen bad shots that miraculously made it in the cup. "One lady hit it off a tree," Frisinger said. Rogers now has two hole-in-ones, but he has yet to actual see the ball go in the cup. "It would have been nice to see it go in," Rogers said. "That happens to a lot of people. They're unable to see it go in on an elevated tee." Rogers, who is the treasurer on the township board, now trails Art Wall Jr. by 52 for the most career hole-in-ones. "To get one is great," Frisinger said. "Two is rare. And more is crazy-good."